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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23843605">Definitely A Case</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IneffableFangirl_writes/pseuds/IneffableFangirl_writes'>IneffableFangirl_writes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The X-Files</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, It's Definitely a Case, Las Vegas, UFO convention</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:53:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>932</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23843605</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IneffableFangirl_writes/pseuds/IneffableFangirl_writes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>I wrote this to go with an episode but hell if I remember which one.</p><p>From the backlog on my computer of unpublished fic, brought to you by quarantine.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Definitely A Case</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Dana Scully walked into the office that morning and flicked on the light, it looked like a bomb had gone off. Mulder wasn’t usually particularly neat, but there was a sense of ordered chaos at the very least. Not so much on that particular morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mulder?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From behind the desk there was the sound of shuffling and her partner’s head appeared, bleary-eyed with a bit of newspaper pasted to his cheek. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you sleep here last night?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yawning, he looked at his watch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apparently.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wading through the mess, Scully picked up a newspaper with a two-inch by two-inch square of text circled several times. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Woman disappears, neighbors claim alien abduction.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looking for a case?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looking for? No, Scully, I’ve found us a case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Holding the newspaper, she pointed to the article, raising an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that was just the beginning. I did some digging, and let me show you what I found.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pulling out several more newspapers and a manilla folder, he spread them out over the layer of papers already covering his desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the third incident this year of disappearances in Las Vegas with these types of influences. I think it’s worth investigating.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mulder, it’s Vegas. People come and go all the time, it’s a town built around casinos.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah but these were all established residents, Scully. This last one was an elderly woman.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Missing persons is not our department, Mulder. I’m sure the local police are already looking into it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But they’re not looking for unexplainable instances. They just want to sweep it under the rug.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mulder,” she began, but he was already piling papers into another folder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve already bought the tickets. Our flight is around 1.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The motel was Elvis themed and Scully didn’t bother hiding her opinion of it, shooting Mulder a long look complete with raised eyebrows and wrinkled nose. He merely smiled widely at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honeymoon suite?” the Elvis impersonator at the desk asked and Scully forced a smile at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two rooms, please. Non-smoking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right little lady,” he drawled and Scully glanced back at Mulder, who was failing to stifle a shit-eating grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you two in town for then? Lotta conventions in the area.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just business,” Scully replied, taking the keys to the rooms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right well you just let the King know if you need anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, thank you. We will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tossed Mulder the key to his room and began down the hall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once in her room, she set her things down and was taking out her pantsuit to keep it from creasing when Mulder knocked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Scully?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s open.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He came in with a sheepish grin and a newspaper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So...they found that missing woman.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They solved our case then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well sort of, there are still the two previous victims to look into. But hey, it was a long flight, I’m kind of hungry. Do you want to grab something to eat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not all that hungry, Mulder.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Scully. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That makes no sense in this context,” she remarked, hanging her jacket on one of the hotel’s hangers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m going to go find something to eat and look around. You want to come?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t particularly, but ten minutes later they were walking down the Vegas strip, he in a Hawaiian shirt and jeans and she in a blouse and skirt, sweating just faintly in the remainders of the desert heat. It didn’t take her long at all to realize that Mulder’s aimless wandering was less aimless than it appeared. The second clue was the convention center they stood before. The nail in the coffin was the visitor’s badge he tossed her as he clipped one on and showed it to the guard before walking in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sign in the lobby said ‘Sponsored by the Mutual UFO Network’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Three lectures, thirty or so booths and absolutely no dinner later, Scully wasn’t sure if she was more hungry or annoyed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought we came here for a case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mulder had the audacity to look wounded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course we came here for a case, Scully.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then what are we doing at a UFO convention?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exploring Las Vegas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you had badges already because?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was a Boy Scout, Scully. Always be prepared.” He laid a finger to the side of his nose and gave her a knowing look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mulder, if we don’t get something to eat in the next five minutes, I will find it very difficult to resist strangling you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They did find a diner and she did resist strangling him. And when the missing persons case fell through entirely and Mulder couldn’t get a flight until the following afternoon, (“I really tried, Scully. They’re booked solid.”) the urge to strangle him was a bit more difficult to resist. However, as he rattled through the convention, stopping at nearly every booth and muttering under his breath during lectures, she found it slightly difficult to stay mad at him. Frustrating as he was, Mulder was passionate about his beliefs and that passion was one of the things she loved about him, however much it got him (and consequently, her) into trouble.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the flight back, she read a cheap airport paperback novel as Mulder dozed. She had already lectured him on the ethics of faking a case (“it was a real case, Scully.”) so he could go to a UFO convention. When she came into the office the next morning and a little alien bobblehead peered at her from atop his desk, she didn’t smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe a little. </span>
</p>
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